Wheelset Reconditioning Facility
 Automated devices are used to mount bearings onto car wheel sets. |
Constructed in 1964, the North Little Rock wheelset reconditioning facility provides both locomotive and freight car wheelsets for the Union Pacific system. Proclaimed by employees as "the hub of quality wheels," this wheel shop in the Jenks complex remanufactures locomotive and car wheelsets and reconditions locomotive wheelset bearings.
The shop's locomotive side supplies both new and reconditioned wheelsets to locomotive shops throughout the system, including North Platte, Nebraska; Kansas City, Missouri; Fort Worth, Houston and El Paso, Texas; Chicago, Illinois, and others. The automated car side has a capacity to handle up to 4,800 wheelsets per month. Output is dependent on customer demand and "just in time" delivery.
The wheel shop has its own specialized maintenance group which repairs, modifies and constructs equipment, including conversions to advanced, programmable controllers.